WASHINGTON (AP) — The top Senate Republican says if the report about Alabama candidate Roy Moore and sexual contact with a 14-year-old is true, he should drop out of the race.

In a one-sentence statement Thursday, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says: “If these allegations are true, he must step aside.”

The response was swift from Senate Republicans shortly after The Washington Post story about Moore initiating a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl several decades ago.

Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado says, “The allegations against Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore are deeply troubling.” Gardner chairs the Republican senatorial campaign committee. He adds, “If these allegations are found to be true, Roy Moore must drop out of the Alabama special Senate election.”